After a long, draining day at school, the last thing you want to do is more work. Imagine having loads of worksheets and papers in each subject due the next day. Teachers think assigning homework to students each night is accommodating for them and will improve their long-term learning. However, studies have shown that homework is proven to cause kids mental health issues, stress, and the time it takes away from social life. The amount of homework in schools should be greatly reduced, if not eliminated.
To start, the amount of homework can lead to multiple mental issues and health problems. For instance, headaches, sleep deprivation, panic attacks, and other issues related to stress and anxiety can be caused by excessive amounts of homework. A Stanford Graduate School study shows everyone has the wrong impression of homework. Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School states, “Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good” (Pope). Other experiments have shown that piles of homework can lead to kids having depression. Sleep Health researched this topic and states, “Additional studies published by Sleep Health Journal found that long hours on homework may be a risk factor for depression, suggesting that reducing workload outside of class may benefit sleep and mental fitness” (Does Homework Cause Stress? Exploring the Impact on Students’ Mental Health). It also elaborates on how homework can take a great toll on how much sleep a student is getting, “Homework-related stress can disrupt students’ sleep patterns, leading to sleep anxiety or sleep deprivation, both of which can negatively impact cognitive function and emotional regulation” (Does Homework Cause Stress? Exploring the Impact on Students’ Mental Health).
Secondly, homework causes increased stress in a kid’s life. Teens can become anxious over the lack of understanding, low confidence in their skills, or challenging assignments. According to Sara Hill at Helium, “Homework-induced stress on students can involve both psychological and physiological side effects. Prolonged exposure to stress hormones may impact the brain’s functioning, affecting memory, concentration, and other cognitive abilities” (Does Homework Cause Stress? Exploring the Impact on Students’ Mental Health). One could also develop severe stress with sports and parental pressure. How would the stress of homework after school help with that? Eighth-grader Gella Hollins stated, “I don’t have much stress from parents but more from school and sports, because my soccer practice is 40 minutes away. This causes me to have to complete homework in the car or late at night. I don’t get to go to bed until 11:30 p.m. because of the extreme assignments at school. Then I’m too sleep-deprived in the morning to be fully awake for school.”
Although many parents and learning educators feel the need to give students homework for their learning practice, it could be more beneficial. The amount of time homework takes to complete is too much for most middle and high school students. A student news site in Geneva Illinois titled Voyager states, “Many students receive hours of school work a night which takes up most of their free time. Between the activities students participate in and school work, students must sacrifice one of those to either maintain good mental health or good grades. More times than not students choose grades due to fear of failure” (Homework: Helpful or Hurtful?). With students taking so much of their time after school away because of more school work, this produces a lack of personal time. A lot of students do around 2-3 after-school activities which take up a lot of their after-school hours, not including hanging out with friends and family, appointments, and having relaxation time.
Voyager also states, “However, if homework were made optional, students will have the opportunity to complete it for extra practice if they need it. Often, homework is busy work for many students and causes more stress rather than helping them comprehend the material. Students should take it upon themselves to decide whether they need to do homework or not” (Homework: Helpful or Hurtful?). This idea proves that homework should be optional because it would allow students to get extra practice when needed and will not waste their time if they are forced to do homework on topics they feel confident about.
In summary, many studies demonstrate how homework is hurting more than helping. Too much homework can lead to health problems, over added stress and the time it takes to complete takes away from social time. These health problems that start now in a child’s life can lead to more serious issues in the future. If the homework rules were reconsidered to be optional it would lead to kids becoming more efficient and self-independent and still getting extra practice on work you need. After taking all these factors, should the homework rules be changed?
